This question could be phrased in many ways. It could be a generic question, such as, “What do you think of 1:1s?” or a specific one, such as, “Do you address project-related topics in your 1:1s?”

What is the interviewer looking for?#

• How well you prioritize 1:1s. How often are they scheduled? If your team consists of less than 10 people, then you should ideally be taking out time to meet them weekly. If it’s more than 10 people, then biweekly meetings are a good standard.
• What the general aim is for your 1:1s. Do you use them to get project updates only, or are you utilizing the time to build a trusting relationship with your team?
• Are you doing your homework before 1:1s, or are you just showing up?
• Are you getting feedback from other partners on your report to discuss in the meeting?
• Are you encouraging the other person to bring topics to the table, or is it just about what the manager wants to talk about?

What a good answer looks like#

“For me, 1:1s are incredibly important to build a relationship that goes beyond that of just a report and their manager. I want my team to know they can trust me with their career goals and what they expect from the project we’re working on. When your team trusts you, it functions like a well-oiled machine. They should ideally be comfortable talking to me about anything. So, during our 1:1s, I don’t encourage talking about the engineering project we’re working on directly. Instead, I focus more on establishing a human connection with the people I work with daily.

I try to schedule weekly 1:1s, and how they are structured depends on the person and how long they’ve been with the team. I try to set an agenda beforehand and encourage them to suggest any topics they feel like discussing so that I can do my homework. The topics of the 1:1 could be specific to the person I’m meeting with. For example, finding out if they’re having any issues with a cross-functional partner and if there’s anything I can do to help them. Another approach is to take a team-wide perspective and ask their opinion on anything pertinent to the team’s functioning. It could be how they feel about the way we’re restructuring on-calls, etc.

The way I choose to manage my time when scheduling 1:1s is that I try to schedule them all in one day, except for maybe one or two senior members. This way, I am able to cross-check things across the team. If I’m getting any particular signal from them, I can consolidate that into a summary and share it with whoever my partner is in executing the team goals. That way, we can address it together.”

Follow-up questions to expect#

• “Give me an example of when you managed to help somebody unblock themselves or turn around a relationship.”
• “What do you do if somebody on your team doesn’t open up in 1:1s? How was that experience, and how do you deal with situations like that?”
• “How did you use 1:1s to solve problems? Have you ever used them to solve a conflict on the team? Give an example.”